Sacred Heart property in Joliet latest church listed for sale

Joliet — The Diocese of Joliet has placed a third shuttered church on the real estate market, following the city’s targeted restructuring closures in June 2024.

The Sacred Heart Church property was officially listed by Suburban Real Estate Services on Nov. 20, however, the listing was updated on Jan. 15.

The property includes three buildings, the former church, hall, and rectory, and a parking lot on 2.97 acres of land, which the Diocese said the parish wishes to sell as one parcel.

Sacred Heart Church was closed and merged with the former St. Paul, St. Jude, and St. Patrick’s parishes to form the new Queen of Apostles parish on June 30, 2024 as part of the diocese’s larger restructuring initiative aimed at consolidating the resources of Joliet and Crest Hill’s shrinking parishes.

The former St. Paul and St. Patrick church buildings were maintained as the parish’s worship sites. Any money received from the sale of the property will go directly to the new combined parish, the diocese has said.

Currently, the church is asking $650,000 for the Sacred Heart property, located at 329, 331, and 337 S. Ottawa St. The listing notes the space, which includes a 100-space parking lot and 17,220 square-feet of buildings, would be “great for a church, nonprofit, or community center” and describes it as “an ideal central location offering ample convenience for future uses.”

The church and hall buildings are described as “special use” structures, while the rectory is listed as residential. The property is listed as “very functional, with some updates” suggesting the need for maintenance in the buildings.

The church itself contains a small meeting room, storage area, and a kitchenette in addition to the main 250-seat worship space, while the hall property contains two meeting rooms, a large cafeteria and community room, and a full kitchen with appliances.

The two-story rectory includes four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a full basement, and a two-car garage.

Despite stating that there were no plans to get rid of any of the closed church properties at the time of the closures, Sacred Heart is the third former church the diocese has designated for sale, following the former St. Jude Church in Joliet and St. Anne Church in Crest Hill. Both of those properties were listed for sale in fall 2024.

According to a statement from the diocese both the former St. Jude and St. Anne churches have contracts pending for their sale, but buyers were not disclosed.

The diocese was asking for $1.75 million for the St. Jude property at 2200 McDonough St. and $500,000 for the St. Anne property at 1800 Dearborn St.

In the same statement, the Diocese Communications Office said “there has been interest in and offers on Sacred Heart, but no contract is currently pending.”